The present invention generally relates to a groundwater monitoring system and related method.
Groundwater is a finite resource. More than 44 percent of the people in the United States use groundwater as drinking water, including almost everyone who lives in rural areas. Moreover, the large use for groundwater is to irrigate crops. Therefore, to keep groundwater safe and sustainable is critical for human wellbeing.
Groundwater supplies are replenished, or recharged, by rain and snow melt that seeps down into the cracks and crevices beneath the land surface. Due to overuse, groundwater level declines, and eventually will lead to dry wells. Groundwater is susceptible to pollutants as well. In areas where material above the aquifer is permeable, pollutants can readily sink into groundwater supplies. Groundwater can be polluted by landfills, septic tanks, leaky underground gas tanks, and from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Groundwater contamination causes it to become unsafe and unfit for human use. Having groundwater under well management is important to ensure its sustainable application. Water monitoring is the initial step for groundwater management. Information generated by groundwater monitoring system will notice if the water is sustainable and will guide to corrective actions.
Some existing approaches and systems usable for monitoring groundwater are limited by the types of data which can be collected, accuracy, ease of use, and other factors. Furthermore, some systems rely on manual deployment and manipulation of subterranean probes used for monitoring and characterizing various aspects of the groundwater table making such systems operator intensive and incapable of remote data collection and monitoring.
An improved system for monitoring groundwater is needed.